For Rose
by punketten
Summary: Harry and Ginny have some news, and Hermione is freaking out. It's a good job then that Ron is there to help her sort out her thoughts. One-shot.


For Rose

"I know we said this wasn't a special occasion," Harry said, "but that's not strictly true." He smiled brightly and placed his hand over Ginny's, which was resting on the table. Ginny turned to him and smiled back, pure joy etched across her face. "We have something to tell you," Harry continued. "Do you want to tell them, or shall I?" he asked Ginny.

Hermione immediately knew what they were about to say, and it wasn't fair. No, it was not. Why did they have to be so _bloody _happy when she was freaking out? She glanced sideways at Ron, who was sitting next to her. By the look on his face, she could tell he hadn't figured it out.

Ginny beamed. "I'm pregnant."

"No way!" Ron said, "Already? I mean – congratulations!" His smile faltered a little as he looked at Hermione – she was smiling, but he could tell it was forced.

"We know it's soon," Harry said, laughing a little at Ron's remark, oblivious to the other couple's discomfort. "It'll be a handful, with James still so little, but we're really excited." Ginny nodded in agreement, but she had noticed Hermione's strained look.

"Hermione," she asked, "is something wrong?"

"No, not at all!" Hermione said, her voice high-pitched. Then she abruptly burst into tears. "I'm so happy for you," she sobbed, and preceded to stand up. "I just need to go outside for a second, I think." She turned and walked out through the glass doors in the living room that led to the garden, leaving Harry and Ginny looking both concerned and bewildered. They immediately turned to Ron, who was looking very uncomfortable.

"I think I should probably go after her," he said, standing up.

"Ron, what's the matter?" Ginny asked.

Ron scratched his nose, unsure about what to answer. "Well, you see, um..." He paused. "We've been trying to have a baby for quite a while now, and it's not working."

Ginny gasped. "Merlin, we had no idea! And here we are being all up in the clouds!" She stood up and said "I need to go and apologize..."

"No," Ron said, "just hold on a minute. I'll talk to her." And he followed Hermione outside.

She was sitting on the garden bench, eyes closed and head tilted upwards so she could soak in the sun. If Ron hadn't seen the tear tracks on her face, or the way her hands kept opening and closing nervously, she would have looked peaceful. He walked over and sat down next to her, taking both her hands in his.

After a lengthy silence he said softly "It'll be all right."

"How do you know?" she asked, wiping tears off her face.

"Because we have each other."

Hermione turned to look at him, and asked "Why can't I be as happy as them?" Ron had no answer to this question, but he heard the hurt in her voice and reacted instinctively. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm so scared," Hermione whispered, her voice muffled as she spoke into crook of Ron's neck.

"You don't have to be scared," Ron said, stroking Hermione's hair.

"I should be excited," she said, "but I'm not. Surely that means I'm not ready?"

Ron frowned, unsure what she was talking about. "Well," he said, "it's understandable, not being thrilled they're having another child when we're still waiting for our first."

Hermione sat up so she could look at him. "That's not what I meant," she said.

"What did you mean?" Ron asked, when she failed to elaborate.

"I don't think I'll be a good mother."

"Don't be silly," Ron said, "you'll be a wonderful mother. The best!"

"Our kids will hate me."

"Of course they won't, what on earth makes you say that?"

"I'll be the nagging mother who never lets them do anything, and you'll be the fun-loving dad they go to whenever I say no."

"But Hermione, don't you see?" Ron exclaimed. "That's why we work so well together! You sometimes need to be told to lighten up a little, and I sometimes need to be told to take things a little more seriously." Ron thought he saw Hermione smile ever so slightly, and continued. "You'll be a great mother, Hermione, because even though our children might sometimes think you're being too strict, they'll know they can always rely on you to be there for them when they need you, and that they can talk to you about anything. Even the embarrassing stuff like love, and Merlin knows they won't want to talk to _me _about that, I'll be completely useless!" Hermione laughed, and Ron lifted up his hands to stroke away the tears still lingering on her cheeks.

"I love you so much, Ron," Hermione whispered, and flung her arms around him.

Ron hugged her tightly and whispered back "I love you, too." They remained in the embrace for a while in silence, listening to each other's breathing, until Hermione gently pulled away.

"Ron," she said, taking one of his hands in both of hers and holding on tightly. She took a deep breath, but seemed unable to continue what she had been about to say.

"Yes?" Ron said gently, squeezing her hands reassuringly.

Hermione closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and said "I'm pregnant." Ron couldn't do anything but stare at her in shock, and so Hermione opened her eyes to take in his reaction.

"A-a-are you sure?" he asked eventually, and Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure."

An uncontrollable smile stretched across Ron's face, and he burst into laughter. Jumping up off the bench he pulled Hermione with him and hugged her so tightly her feet were lifted off the ground.

"You're pregnant!" he laughed, and Hermione clutched at him tightly as he whirled her around, and she started laughing too. Why had she ever been so scared? She had Ron by her side, and nothing could ever go wrong when she had Ron by her side. _I will never forget that ever again_, she told herself, and planted a wet kiss on Ron's cheek. He set her back down on the ground and kissed her.

"We're going to have a baby," he said, looking into Hermione's eyes and smiling.

"Yes," she said, "we're going to have a baby."

Ron let go of her and walked over to a nearby rosebush. With a flick of his wand he cut off the prettiest red rose, and after walking back to Hermione, threaded it into her hair.

"For Rose," he whispered, and Hermione smiled.

"We don't know that yet," she said. "It could be Hugo."

"Oh, I don't know," Ron said. "I just have a feeling it's going to be Rose."


End file.
